Undergarment



A. J. HARWOOD UNDERGARMENT Feb. 9, 1943.

Filed 001:. 16, 1941 Patentecl Feb. 9, 1943 UNDERGARMENT Asa J. Harwood,Richmond, In'd., assigncr to The Atlas Underwear Company, Piqua, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application October 16, 1941, Serial No. 415,278

3 Glaims. (01. 2-224) This invention relates to nether garments for menand is concerned more particularly with a novel nether garment which canbe worn with greater comfort than similar garments as made heretofore.The new garment will ordinarily be worn as an undergarment and anembodiment of the invention in that form will, accordingly, beillustrated and described in detail for purposes of explanation.

At the present time, there are many forms of undergarments of the shortstype availabl on the market and these garments are ordinarily made ofknitted material. They include front and back sections connected to awaistband and also connected together for a distance along the sides ofthe garment and in some cases, the sections are cut from a tubular pieceof fabric. In either instance, the lower edges of the sections areshaped to define leg openings and each opening is commonly finished byan endless hem in which is incorporated a, strip of elastic material.The leg opening hems fit the legs closely and portions of the hemsusually lie within the groins of the wearer. The snug fit of the hemsagainst the body of the wearer gives the garment an attractiveappearance but is liable to cause chafing and discomfort if the hems aretoo tight.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a shorts garmentof the type above referred to which is so constructed that the edges ofthe leg openings fit snugly in place but are not held in that relationby elastic tapes or the like. The leg openings in the new garment arenot defined by endless hems as in the former constructions but areclosed at the top by hems on overlapping portions of the garment, theseportions being separable, so that the circumference of the leg openingsmay be increased. The overlapping sections are normally held in suchposition that the garment fits snugly in place, but the openings arereadily expansible and thus the garment cannot cause discomfort to thewearer or hamper his movements.

For a better understanding of the invention,

reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are, respectively, front and back elevational views of oneform of garment constructed in accordance with the invention, portionsof the garment being broken away in each view;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; and

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views similar to Fig. 3 of modified forms ofthe garment.

The new garment in the form shown in Fig. 1 comprises a waistband Ii!which is extensible circumferentially of the garment. This waistband isendless and is preferably formed of a strip of elastic fabric, althoughit may be made of inelastic fabric with elastic inserts, if desired.

The front and back sections II and I2 of the garment are permanentlyconnected at their upper edges to the lower edge of the waistband withthe median lines of the sections intersecting the midpoints of the frontand rear of the waistband, respectively. The sections are of decreasingwidth downwardly from the waistband and are connected to form a closedcrotch. At their upper ends, the corner portions of the sections overlapand the corners I3, I3 of the back section lie inwardly from the sidesof the garment greater distances than the corners it of the frontsection. The edges l5, it of the sections define leg openings IT and theedges are finished with hems l8.

Since the front and back sections overlap at their upper corners and theoverlapping portions are not connected together xcept along thewaistband, the leg openings are not defined by continuous pieces ofmaterial, such as the endless hems employed in the prior garments.Accordingly, the tops IQ of the leg openings are not fixed points, butas the overlapping portions of the front and back sections are spreadapart, the tops l9 of the openings may vary in their relation to thewaistband. By forming the rear section so that it is wider than thefront section and its corners lie inward a greater distance from thesides of the garment than the corners of the front section, thewaistband tends to hold the rear section snugly in contact with the seatof the wearer without gaping, and th tops of the leg openings lie at thedesired positions.

As illustrated in the drawing, the form of the front and rear sectionsand the manner in which they are connected to the waistband are suchthat the lateral edges of the sections define leg openings which faceforwardly rather than laterally, with the. centers of the openings lyinginward substantial distances from the sides of the garment. Thisconstruction makes the garment comfortable to wear and, at the sametime, insures full coverage at all times.

If the front and rear sections of the garment were of similar cut andconnected to the waistband with their corners meeting or withoutsubstantial overlap at the sides of the garment, the leg openings wouldface laterally. In that case, if the front section were of such cut asto avoid bunching of the material between the crotch and waistband whenthe garment was worn, the rear section of similar cut would not coverthe entire seat. On the other hand, if the rear section were so cut asto provide full coverage of the seat, the front section of similar cutwould have excess material which would bunch together when the garmentwas worn. Another disadvantage of a garment in which the front and rearsections meet at the waistband at the sides of the garment withoutsubstantial overlap is that if the rear section is cut to provide fullcoverage when the wearer is seated, the lateral edges thereof will sagaway from the body of the wearer when he is standing erect.

In the present garment, the lateral edges of the sections defining legopenings which face forwardly, cross at the front of the garment at substantial distances below the waistband and the edges continue diagonallyupwardly from the points of crossing to the waistband. The rear section,which is correspondingly wider throughout than the front section, iswrapped around the body at the waist for a distance considerably morethan half the girth of the body and the lateral edges of the sectionforming the rear edges of the waistband are then drawn against the bodyby forces applied to the waistband. In the same way, the lateral edgesof the front section forming the front edge of the leg openings are alsosubjected to strains tending to maintain the front section laterallydistended and the section is thereby kept from bunching together betweenthe crotch and waistband.

The garment may have a closed front without a fly opening, if desired,but preferably such an opening is provided. For this purpose, the frontsection includes an inner flap 2|] extending downwardly from thewaistband and terminating at its lower end in a free edge 2| lying at anangle to the vertical. An outer fiap 22 extends upwardly to overlap theedge 2| and the flaps are connected together at the top by a seam 23 andalong one side 24. The outer flap has a free edge 25 lying in suchrelation to the inclined free edge 2| of the inner flap that, byseparating the flaps, access may be afforded between them into theinterior of the garment across edge 25 to edge 2|.

A pair of inextensible elements, such as tapes 26, are preferablyapplied to the front section to run from the inner edges of the legopening hems l8 upward to the waistband. These elements lie on eitherside of the flaps and prevent sagging f the inner edges of the legopenings.

Various types of crotch construction may be employed in the new garmentand in the form of the garment illustrated in Fig. 1, there is a crotchinsert which comprises a double layer 21 of knitted material secured tothe lower end of the rear section and to the lower end of the outerflap. When the garment is made of knitted material, the front and rearsections and the two flaps will ordinarily be made of material cut sothat the wales extend vertically. The crotch insert material is thenpreferably cut so that the wales extend horizontally and, with thisarrangement, the sections are expansible circumferentially of the bodyand the crotch insert is expansible in a direction through the crotch.

Instead of using the crotch insert, the garment may be made asillustrated in Fig. 4 in which the rear section In is shown as providedwith an extension 28 which passes through the crotch and is connected tothe lower end of the outer flap 22a. Still another construction isillustrated in Fig. 5 in which the rear section |2b extends through thecrotch and continues upwardly so that the outer flap 22b is formedintegrally therewith.

In all forms of the new garment shown, the cut is such that the legopening hems define openings which are readily expansible and theexpansibility is not limited, as in former garments, to the elasticityof the material and, in particular, of

the elastic tapes incorporated in the leg opening hems. The strainsimposed by the waistband on the hems l8 of the leg openings in the newgarment are such as to cause the hems to fit the legs snugly, but sincethe overlapping portions of the sections are readily separable, the legopenings are expansible and their hems tend to fit the wearer snugly butwithout liability of chafing or causing discomfort.

I claim:

1. A nether garment which comprises a waistband, and front and rearsections secured to the waistband and extending downwardly therefrom andunited to form a closed crotch, the sections being of decreasing widthdownwardly and the back section being wider at the top than the frontsection, the sections being secured to the waistband with the uppercorner portions of the sections overlapping and with the corners of theback section lying along the front of the waistband and at greaterdistances inward from the sides of the garment than the corners of thefront section, the side edges of the sections crossing at the front ofthe garment substantial distances below the waistband and defining legopenings facing forwardly, the side edges of the sections beingunattached where they cross so that the size of the leg openings may beincreased.

2. A nether garment which comprises a waistband, and front and rearsections secured to the waistband and extending downwardly therefrom andunited to form a closed crotch, the sections being of decreasin widthdownwardly and the back section being wider at the top than the frontsection, the sections being secured to the waistband with their medianlines intersecting the midpoints of the front and rear of the waistband,respectively, and with the upper corner portions of the sectionsoverlapping, the corners of the back section lying along the front ofthe waistband and at greater distances inward from the sides of thegarment than the corners of the front section, the side edges of thesections crossing at the front of the garment and defining leg openingsfacing forwardly, the side edges of the sections being unattached wherethey cross so that the size of the leg openings may be increased.

3. A nether garment which comprises a waistband, and front and rearsections secured to the waistband and extending downwardly therefrom andunited to form a closed crotch, the sections being of decreasing widthdownwardly with the rear section Wider at the top than the front sectionand also substantially wider than half the circumference of thewaistband, the sections belng secured to the waistband with the uppercorner portions of the sections overlapping and with the corners of theback section lying along the front of the waistband and at greaterdistances inward from the sides of the garment than the corners of thefront section, the side edges of the sections crossing at the front ofthe garment at points substantial distances below the waistband andcontinuing diagonally upward from the points of crossing to thewaistband, said edges defining leg openings facing forwardly, the sideedges of the sections being unattached where they cross so that the sizeof the leg openings may be increased.

ASA J. HARWOOD.

